South America Vacation Ideas?

Buenos Aires for food and culture. And hot guys.

Brazil Op.

Montevideo is very pleasant, and has a good gay scene plus a lot of beautiful classic architecture. There's also a great bike path all along the waterfront that goes for miles. Its also a four hour ferry ride from Buenos Aires which as R1 says is well worth seeing. Montevideo is basically a smaller, quieter version of Buenos Aires in many respects. And both have hot guys

Argentina and Antarctica

Just be careful you don't run into Moriarty in Montevideo. Rumor has it they hanged the wrong man...

Santiago in Chile is also worth seeing, and its close to the Andes, you can get day trips right up into the mountains and see condors. Much of it is quite attractive too

San Carlos de Bariloche in the Andes is a Swiss Paradise. Beautiful national park and lake. Much skiing there in our summer.

Check out the Gold Museum in Lima, OP.

An incredible collection!

I don't think there's enough to see in Montevideo for a full vacation. You can easily do Buenos Aires and Montevideo combined - there's a ferry called BuqueBus between the two countries - but I think the ferry only goes to Colonia and then it's a 2 hour bus ride from there. Flights between BA and Montevideo are cheap - that may be a faster option.

There's really not much to see on the ferry - so you're not missing out on views by taking a plane.

Colombia's tourism has soared and supposedly has a great gay scene. That's been on my list for awhile.

Lima, Peru has become a gastronomical powerhouse with several restaurants in the top 20 or 50 in the world.

R9 the ferry goes direct when I was there about 5-6 years ago, but you're right in that there isnt much to see on it. And yes, you'd want to do Buenos Aires and Montevideo as one vacation together, Montevideo isnt that big

R10 - did you go to Punta Del Este? That's the glamorous beach spot for Uruguay. Never made it there, but it's supposed to be very nice - looks kind of small to me though.

Very much the 'it' place for wealthy South Americans and the jet set. That could be an stop to extend the vacation in Uruguay.

[quote] Uruguay

Ur-a-gay. Fags!

Buenos Aires has the best cemetary - I spent 2 days there.

You can combine Montevideo with Punta del Este. Outside Punta, there is nudist beach (Chihuahua Beach) that has a gay cruising spot in the dunes and a little cabana like club on the beach with food, drinks and music. A very International crowd. Not too many Americans. Speaking Spanish is a plus and you would want to rent a car to visit La Barra, Ronda, and José Ignacio along he coast. There's an art scene there and it's laid back and lovely. It would be great to combine Buenos Aires with Uruguay. Punta has an airport and the flight to BA is very short. I agree that Montevideo is not a city to spend a more than a couple of days visiting but there are wonderful options if you explore the Uruguayan coast and beaches. The food in Uruguay is not great but you'll have Buenos Aires for that.

For historic architecture:

Buenos Aires has enormous riches of amazing architecture in rich variety from the early 20thC. Some of the best of it's type anywhere and with some innovative forms.

Lima has astonishing Spanish colonial architecture, wonderful stuff, and unspoiled.

Montevideo has a relatively small group of monumental buildings, some very interesting. Unfortunately there is much disregard to saving residential buildings and more ordinary types of old buildings and many are in recent years they are being demolished rapidly, replaced by cheap and flashy buildings of no quality that look shabby before they are completed.

Spend a week sailing around the Galapagos islands. V expensive but V worth it.

R11 never got to Punta Del Este, pity as it looks as if it would have been worth it and its only a two hour drive. Could also cycle it as a nice day ride along the coast. I rented a shitty bike from the hotel in Montevideo and did a coastal ride up as far as Parque Roosevelt and then back to the port and back to the hotel, about 55 km all up, took me about 2-3 hours

Gurl! Dare to dream! Take that trip to Venezuela! You only go around once!

You can do a weekend trip to Ushuaia, Patagonia to see the penguins and whales.

I agree that Santiago looks magnificent. It seems when you’re in the city the view of the Andes is always towering above you.

South America offers a diverse range of travel experiences. For nature lovers, a trip to the Amazon Rainforest or exploring the Patagonian landscapes in Argentina and Chile is ideal. Adventure seekers can hike the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru or go sandboarding in the Atacama Desert. For cultural experiences, visit cities like Buenos Aires for tango, Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, or Colombia’s Cartagena for colonial architecture. The Galápagos Islands in Ecuador provide unique wildlife experiences, while the salt flats of Bolivia offer stunning, surreal landscapes.

Yes - there are a lot of options - I would say you need to write down the options listed here, do some research and rank them. You'll only be able to do 2 or 3 max.

R21 = LATAM Tourist Board

Cartagena

What’s the gay scene like in Falkland / Malvinas islands ?

Thanks all! I’ve been watching videos online and I’m leaning toward Lima for the food and architecture. It’s a trip for my 60th birthday, so not too concerned about the gay scene.

Lima seems a great choice for those interests, OP/R26. The Baroque architecture is superb and surprising (and I live in Spain), and great food.

With Lima you can easily take some time to fly to Cuzco and explore the Incan city and take a day trip to Machu Picchu, which is unforgettable.

So, OP, if you go to Lima, Peru, do not under any circumstance be tempted to order an Inca Kola. Super sweet, liquid pink bubblegum flavor.

This ghoulish gunk is the foulest tasting soft drink in the world! Trust!

PERU: Pre-colonial wonders of the world. Amazon jungle. Colonial Cusco.

Then food & night life & sex in any of a dozen cities.

If you can afford it , do a Belmond trip in Peru. It’s nice having a driver and a guide.

[quote]Buenos Aires has the best cemetary - I spent 2 days there.

Shame on you! You call yourself an "old school goth" and you don't know how to spell "cemetery"?

Go back to school, goth.

r32 He's taking about the Recoleta Cemetery. Eva Duarte Peron's mausoleum is in there. Hers is grand but there are some truly magnificent ones nearby.

And that excuses the misspelling of "cemetery"?

You're not the sharpest knife in the drawer, either.

Iguazu - you can knock out three countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay) and the falls are not to be missed.

Iguuzuuzuu.

What did you decide, OP?

I’m pretty much decided on a week in Lima. The abundance of ceviche and the cats in Kennedy Park helped seal the deal.

Paraguay

Oh I know all I owe I owe Paraguay

I hear there’s a lovely hotel in BA with a nice balcony…

Stay home

BA has terrific food, it's stupid cheap and close to Montevideo.

Kind of Paris if Paris was falling apart. The new president is batshit nuts.